Boat hull



July 11, 1950 Filed May 21, 1945 M. A. HALL 2,515,162

BOAT HULL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 @14 God M- A. ALL

July 1950 5 Sheets- 2 Filed Ma 1945 l Willy/l y 1, 1950 M. A. HALL2,515,162

BOAT HULL Filed May 21, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented July 11, 1950BOAT HULL Marcus A. Hall, Bethany, Conn., assignor to Steelcraft Boats,Incorporated, a corporation of Connecticut Application May 21, 1945,Serial No."59'4,831'

12 Claims.

1 This invention relates to boat hulls, and more particularly to boathulls constructed of metal, such as steel. The invention also relatesmore particularly to the hull structure of a boat of the speedboattype,but the invention is not limited to that particular application.

One Of the objects is to provide an improved metal hull structure.

Another object is to provide 'astrong light-- weight hull which is cheapto manufacture.

Another object is to provide a strong hull comprising, principally,plates of relatively light gauge metal, the plates *being of a minimumnumber.

Another object is to provide an improved hull structure in which thehull is formed of plates welded together by continuous welds, the jointformation being such as to give the hull great strength.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a boat hull embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8' are respectively sections on lines 33, 4-4,5-5', 6-6; 1- and 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a transverse section of the lower part of the hull on a largerscale, taken adjacent the section line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 10 is similarsection taken adjacent the section line 55;

Fig. 11 is a. similar section taken adjacent the section line 66;

Fig. 12 is a similar section taken adjacent the section line 1'l; I

Fig. 13 is an enlarged section ofthe chine portion of the hull takenadjacent the section line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 14 is a similar 'section taken adjacent the section line 5-5;

Fig. 15 is a similar section taken along the section line l5l5 of Fig.1;

Fig. 16 is a similar section taken adjacent the section line 1-'! boathaving .a'length of say twenty-six feet, this dimension, however,'being-.given' =only by way of example. The hull is constructed .for thegreater part of steel plate members bent to the required shape andwelded together. The hull is shown as equipped with arr-inboard motor,but the boat may, if desired, be driven by an outboard motor. In"general, the hull is characterized by a wide and high body usual inspeedboats, the body having a covered deck, and rearwardly of the deck'an open cockpit. Along the sides of the cockpit in this example arecontinuations of the forward deck plate;

.In the drawings, transverse-sections of the hull are'shown in-Figs; 3,4, 5, 6, '7 and 8, the first of these being-taken near the stem, thesecond and third "through the wide portion of the bow, the

fourth through the forward part of the cockpit, the fifth througha-narrower portion of the cockpit, and the last (Fig.- :8) being takenat a point near the stern. From these, it will be seen that nearthe'stem the hull ischaracterize'd by a high and narrow shape, generallytriangular, widening out into the-shapeof Fig. 4, with a flattening ofthe bottom. 'In Fig. tithe V of the bottom has further flattened, theside walls are shorter and have less angle tothe vertical. In

" Fig. 6, the bottom is further flattened, andthe side walls are furthershortened. In Fig. 7 the side walls are' further shortened and theangles of the" sidewalls come up more nearly to the vertical. 'In' Fig.8, the angles of the side walls to the vertical are reverse angles ascompared to Fig. 7.

The hull comprises essentially a deck plate 20 of metal such" as steel,side plates 2|, a bottom plate 72, and a transom plate 23. The platesreferred to (except the-transom plate) may be continuous from stem tostern, that is to say, in one piece, and it is preferred to make them inthis way, although they can, if desired, be made up of "sectionssuitably interconnected end to end 'as by welding. The several mainplates are interconnected by means of continuouswelds. It is unnecessaryto employ separate rail members. Is is desirable, however, to use a keelstrip in the manner hereinafter described. This keel strip preferablyextends. from the top of the stem to a point rearwardly of the widestpart of the bow, where it terminates. The keel strip is indicated in thedrawings at 24. Within that part of the hull which lies rearwardly ofthe keel strip is a reinforcing member 25 in line with the keel stripsuitably attached to the bottom plate 22 and preferably extending fromthe rear end of therelatively thick metal plate having its rear endabutted against the transom plate and welded 28, these portions orfurcations being separated by a space 29 defined by edges convergingrearwardly toward a point 30. In constructing the" hull, the bottomplate is bent to the shape shown in the drawings, the furcations 21being brought into close adjacency, so that they can be welded to thekeel strip 24 in the manner shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11. The keel strip24 preferably has a semi-round cross section, being rounded at the lowerpart and flat at the upper part, and the portions of the bottom plateare welded to the fiat upper face, for which purpose the plate portionsare provided with flanges 3 I These flanges 3| lie against the upperface of the strip and have their opposing faces spaced apart at a suit--I able distance, and in the space between their. opposing faces, welds32 are placed, one of such welds 32 being at the edge of each plateportion.

Outside welds 33 are also used, these welds 33 being located alongsidethe curved outer surface of the keel strip and being in locations wherethe flanges 3| form angles with the bodies of the respective plateportions. hull shown in Fig. 9, the furcations .21 are bent rection ofthe stern, the angle is decreased. In

the preferred form, the anglegoes' up steeply adjacent the stem to aline such as 34 (Fig. 9) and, from this line, the steepness of the riseis I increased to a slight, extent. The welds 32 and 33 extendrearwardly substantially to the crotch 30 where the keel stripterminates and the inner reinforce 25 begins.

Marginal portions of the furcations 21 have a lapped relation'to theside plate 2|, as shown more particularly in FigsQlS to 17 r inclusive.It

is preferred to have the lower parts of the side plates on the outsideand the upper portions of the bottom plate on the inside, there being asubstantial overlap, and continuous welds at the edges of the respectiveplates,'each such weld connecting the edge of the respective plate tothe face of the adjacent plate.

between a portion 35 of the side plate and a por- The joint is formedtion 36 of the bottom plate, as appears in Fig. 13, for example, wherethe continuous edge welds referred to are indicated at 31 and 38. Aswill be I seen from Figs. 13 to 17 inclusive, the lapped portions of theside plate and the bottom plate bear substantially the same relation toeach other at different points in the length of the hull, but the IFig.16. When the section of Fig. 17 is reached,

the lapping portions have a reverse angle of inclination to thevertical, as compared to Fig. 16.

It will be noted from Figs. 4, 5 and 6 that in In the portion of the 35upwardly at a relatively steep angle. In the di- I 'wardly of the line66 and disappears before the section line 1--1 is reached. On referringto Figs. 13 to 17, inclusive, it will be seen that Figs- 13 and 1e showthe spray projection or rib at about its gmaximum extent. In Fig. 15 itis disappearing, and in Figs. 16 and 17 it has disappeared.v I

In the boat hull of the invention, the structure is such as toaccommodate suitable interior frame members, but the present inventionis not concerned with the frame members, if any, and no such membersare'shown in the drawings.

One of the important'featuresof the invention is the use of a minimumnumber of plate members. It will appear from the foregoing that the latemembers areiof,.a minimum number and of simple form. -FIhey canbereadily interconnected by continuous welds as in the exampledescribed. Another advantage arises from the fact that the structure iswellgsuited to building by mass production methods, there being no needof great accuracy and preciseness in locating the edge portions ofthepplatesfor the creation of the welds. Nor is it necessary to cut theplates with extreme accuracy It will be noted that the joint betweeneach side plate and the bottom plate is a lap joint andthat thejointbetween the bottom plate portion and. the keel strip is also a lapjoint. The amount of overlap can vary within rather wide limits withoutharming the strength and appearance of the structure, and in connectionwith each lap joint two different welds can be used, tl nis insuringv avery strong structure. It'will be seen by reference to Figs. 9, wand 11that-the joint between each part of the bottom plate and the keel stripis similar to I the joint of Fig. 13, for example, not only becausethere isv a lap'in' connection withwhich two welds are used, atdifierent points, but because the keel stripprovides an el'e'm'ent inthe nature of a flat surfaced plate lapping the .portion of the bottomplate. The weld 33 moreover is at the edge of this element of thenatureof a plate. All of the welds referred to are inlocations wherewelds can be made readily. No joint is necessary in the bottom platebetween the crotchand the transom plate. 2;. I i

It will be noted thatthe spray rail; portion of the hull merges into thehull body gradually at the ends of the spray rail. In the spray railportion of the hull the side plate has a bent portion or flange atthelower part, and the bottom plate hasa bent portion 'or flange at itsupper part, the flanges providing the portions of the respective plateswhich are lapped, and the thereon. By comparing figs. 13,14 and 15 itwill be seen that the lapped joint; the difierent portions of the hulllength where the spray rail is providedi's of the same formation andcharacter notwithstanding the different inclinations of the side plateand bottom plate to a vertical plane,.and that the lapped-joint itselfis at varying angles to such a plane at different points in its length.It is also noted that in this structure the weld placed at the edge of'a given plate is spaced laterally from the bend in thatpla'te and thebend in the other late.

It is also to be noted that in the keel portion of the hullillustratedin Figs. 9'; 10 and 11, the strength of the hull is-increased at aresult of the provision of flanges at the lower ends of the sideplates.- These flanges lie flatwise against th'e' u'ppersurface of theheel and "have the same relation to it at diiferent'points in the lengthof thel'ii'ill, as shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11, the differ-'- ence" atdilfer'ent points inthe hull length being in the angle defined betweenthe flange and the plate body.

In the spray rail portion of the hull the flange provided on the sideplate is, in general, in a laterally directed positioniso as to affordgood support for the flange of thebottom plate which is superimposedupon it. This is a further factor increasing the strength of the hulland its weightcarrying capacity.

In one aspect of the invention the furcations at the forward portion ofthe bottom plate are interconnected by welding them by continuous weldsto a plate member, this plate member preferably being applied externallyas in the case of the keel strip shown in this example.

While only one example of the hull structure is shown in the drawings,it will be understood that the invention can take many other forms andthat various modifications and changes in the details can be madewithout departing from the principles of the invention or the scope ofthe claims.

What I claim is:

1. A boat hull comprising metal plates interconnected, said hull havingat the chine portions side plates and a bottom plate structure joined bylap joints, each lap joint including two edge welds of the plates, thelapping portions of each side plate and of the bottom plate being atdifferent angles to the vertical lengthwise of the hull.

2. A boat hull comprising metal plates interconnected, said hull havingat the chine portions side plates and a bottom plate structure joined bylap joints, each lap joint including two edge welds of the plates, thelapping portions of each side plate and of the bottom plate being atdifierent angles to the vertical lengthwise of the hull, the chineportion being formed as a spray rib through a portion of the hulllength.

3. A boat hull comprising metal plates interconnected, said hull havingat the chine portions side plates and a bottom plate structure joined bylap joints, each lap joint including two edge welds of the plates, thelapping portions of each side plate and of the bottom plate being atdifferent angles to the vertical lengthwise of the hull, the chineportion being formed as a spray rib through a portion of the hulllength, each side plate having a lapping portion on the exterior of aportion of the bottom plate.

4. A boat hull comprising interconnected metal plates including sideplates and bottom plate portions, and the hull having chine membersconstituted by lapping portions of the side plates and bottom platepor'tibns,eaeh chine member including two welds associated with theedges of the" lapping por'tions, the lapping portions in a portion ofthe hull length'being disposed at angles to the bodies of theirrespective plates; and the angular portion on one lapping on the"angular portion on the other to" provide spray ribs.

5. A boat hull having at the chine portion a* side plate and a bottomplate joined by a, lap joint, said jo'int being formed'between lappingportions of the side plate and bottom plate respectively atdifferentangles to a'vertical plane,

said lapping portions throughout a portion of the hull length being atangles to the plates to provide a spray rib.

and providing in a portion a s'pray'rib.

7'. Aboat hull having a side plate and a bot tom plate joined by a, lapjoint at the chine portion of the hull, said lap joint comprisingflanges formed respectively on the plates and overlapping each other andsecured together by edge welds, said flanges being at different anglesto a, vertical plane at diiierent points lengthwise of the hull andproviding in a portion of the hull length a. spray rib, said spray ribhaving ends which merge into the hull body.

8. A boat hull having a side plate and a bottom plate joined by a lapjoint at the chine portion of the hull, said lap joint comprisingflanges formed respectively on the plates and overlapping each other andsecured together by edge welds, said flanges being at difierent anglesto a vertical plane and at different angles to the bodies of theirrespective plates at different points lengthwise of the hull androviding in a portion of the hull length a spray rib, said edge weldsbeing laterally spaced from the bends at the base portions of theflanges.

9. In a boat hull, a keel member in the nature of a plate having a flatupper surface, and a hull plate having a lower integral flange placedagainst the upper surface of the first plate, and two linear weldsfastening the plates together, one being at the edge of each plate, thebody of the second plate being at different angles to its flange atdifferent points in the length of the hull.

10. A boat hull comprising side plate portions and bottom plate portionsjoined together to form chines, said plate portions having edge portionsoverlapping and interconnected in the bow of the hull and lyingsubstantially in the planes of the respective bodies of said plateportions, said plate portions having approximately horizontal flangesamidships that are overlapped and interconnected and provide spray-ribportions, and the hull having astern of said sprayrib portions a jointstructure between said plate portions in which the bottom plate portionis flanged and the side plate portion unflanged, the side plate portionadjacent the joint in this portion being inclined so a to be closer tothe vertical than in the spray-rib portion, and the side plate portionadjacent the joint at the stern being at a reverse inclination to thevertical.

and side plate portions overlapped at the chine portions of the hull,said plate portions being interconnected at each side of the hull by aweld and side plate portions overlapped at the chine portions of thehull, said plate portions being 1 interconnected at each side of thehull by a weld along a lower edge provided upon the side plate portionand a weld along an. upper edge. pro- 1 vided upon the bottom plateportion, there being at each side of the hull in a part of its length aspray-rib formation formed by flanges provided upon the respective plateportions, the welds being laterally spaced from the bends by which theflanges are created, both of said plate portions being unfiangeds-temwardly of the sprayrib formation, and one of said plate portionsbeing unflangedisternwardly of the spray-rib Iormation.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent! V I v UNITED srATEs PA'IENTS Number Name I 250,717 DurantDec. 13, .1881 926,252 I Hyde June 29, 1909v 1,243,938 -I-Ii1ls Oct-23,1917 1,295,117 Campbell Feb. 25, 1919 1,636,076- Ruthenburg July-19,1927 f. 1,790,624 Shoup Jan. 27, 1931 1,794,895- Hall Mar. 3,19311,823,986 Pritchard. Sept. 22, 1931 1,980,998 -Knight- 1 Nov. 20,1934:2,083,410 Stiver June 8,1937 2,251,621 Van Hoorn Aug. 5, 1941 FOREIGNPATENTS Y,

Number Country f 7 Date 392,703 Great Britain May-25,1933

468,280 Great Britain July 1, 1937 MARCUS A. I-lALL.

Date

